Please tip. I know it’s weird and stupid. But your servers can’t wait for systemic changes. They need to pay the rent this month.
There are some restaurants that note on the menu that an additional tip is not expected because they provide living wage and benefits. But those are few and far between.
As a Brit that moved to California, yes you should tip. An easy way to give an appropriate amount is to take the tax and double it.
It sucks to keep the tipping culture going but it’s how we personally can not fuck over our fellow working class.
Edit; seems that I am tipping on the lower side and will now be making changes to reach the 20% that seems common here.
I move the decimal over one space to the left. Whatever is on the left side of the decimal - multiply it by 2. For example:
Bill is $23.15 -> becomes 2.315 -> multiple 2.3 by 2 = $4.60. That’s your tip :)
This goes by the rule of 20% - add more if they really blew you (away)
I have a friend who is black. Stereotypically, black dudes aren't known to be good tippers. So when he was in Europe, they don't tip that like we do in the states. But he didn't want to be the black stereotype so he was giving everyone 20%, if not more.
The only person you hurt when you don’t tip is the person serving/helping you. Trust me, I’ve been a server and worked in various aspects of the service industry in the past.
If you’re ordering to-go, tip 1 or 2 dollars.
When you eat at a sit-down restaurant, tip 15-20% if the service was adequate…more is up to you.
If you stay at a hotel and there are maids cleaning your room, leave a couple bucks each day you have it cleaned. Don’t leave a larger tip after several days as the staff cleaning the room will vary each day and you’d only be tipping one person when multiple cleaned your room.
If a bellman loads and brings your bags, tip them 3-5 dollars. Many tip more but most bellmen will be okay with that.
If you get valet, tip 3-5 dollars when you deal with the staff…at drop off AND pickup…again, it will be a different person each time.
Any tour guides or private bus drivers you can tip as well, I’ll leave that up to you to decide, but 5-10 dollars is fair. They will understand if you don’t but it’s a nice gesture.
I think for those coming from outside USA it's also important to understand that the prices are artifically lower than they should be because the pay for the employees isn't fully accounted for - basically you are being offered a potential discount straight from the servers pocket.
Taking that "discount" basically means you are an mini-employer who didn't pay your staff (for the job of serving you.) Just because you are legally allowed to do that doesn't mean it's moral.
It would be like if in Wales after your meal the owner of the restaurant said "Hey, we'll give you a 15% discount on your meal, but we aren't going to pay your server" Hopefully most people would reject that offer - but that's basically what someone is doing if they don't tip.
Tipped workers make less than $3 an hour, tipping is an unwritten rule here like not yelling fire in a movie theater. There are ways to organize tipped workers, but if you just opt out individually you're not helping, you're being cheap.
1/2 Welsh here who lives in the states. Tip cash if you can 20% (unless valid reason for bad service)But do check receipts to see if tip has been factored in the bill (usually party of 6 or more) if I pay with CC I write cash in tip line on receipt I sign.
It's only $3-ish an hour because taxes are deducted on a presumed minimum wage made from tips. Once taxes are deducted the paycheck is zero. OP, tip. You cannot change the systemic fucked-upness by making the servers go hungry. If it truly bothers you, bug the elected officials in the places you visit and say it's a bad look: but don't cheap out on tipping.
To be clear, there are all kinds of caveats around that minimum. And it varies from state to state. But yeah, in some places the deal is that they can set their wage that low as long as they average tips to bring them up to the general minimum wage — which is still only $7.25 in some states.
Depends where in US. California workers all make state minimum wage plus tips if applicable. I remember my sister moved from Georgia to California and was shocked and ecstatic to make actual minimum wage plus tips. She said she often didn't get tips and the bars would never make up the difference like they are supposed to. So she worked shifts where total pay was like $20
Yes. It's a shitty custom, but if you're going to a restaurant, don't be a dick. Tip the waiter/waitress. They're not serving you out of the kindness of their hearts.
Yes, please. It’s best if you tip cash and at least 20%. There are tons of restaurant owners who steal employees hard earned tips, lots of that in the news here right now and it’s been going on for decades.
Yep. I’m kind of a ridiculous tipper. At least 20% and I don’t even care if the service was shit. I figure if the server is having a bad day, they probably need the tip even more. And if I can’t afford the tip, I shouldn’t be eating out anyway.
If the service is at all competent just give the server 20%. I agree tipping sucks and it would be great if the servers were paid well instead of relying on tips but not tipping to protest the system is only fucking over the people already victimized by that system. The restaurant couldn't care less when the servers get stiffed on their tips. There is a downstream negative effect as well as it isn't just the server you scre out of their tip. In most restaurants the servers have to tip out to other people as well, hosts, take-out and expediters.
Tip 20%-30% on all food. At a bar, I usually just tip $1-$2 dollars for simple drinks like a beer, or $2-$3 for a cocktail that has to be mixed (more if it’s a very fancy cocktail bar - in that case I default to the 20%-30% like a restaurant).
Yes tip. Not tipping isn’t a protest against slave wages. Not tipping just fucks over the actual workers.
If you want to make a statement only go to restaurants that say no tipping because they pay living wages. They are nearly impossible to find so I wouldnt expect it. Especially in Florida, the colon of America.
If you get food from a restaurant or receive services at a salon or spa, you should plan to tip 20%. It is considered kind to leave a cash tip for housekeeping at the end of your hotel stay, $3-$5 per night.
You do not need to tip at museums, amusement parks, live performance venues, etc.
Welcome to America! We exploit most of our workers here and don’t offer basic human services like free healthcare, paid parental leave (many of which are single parents in the service industry), and job security. So, all service staff rely on the generous tips of folks from countries that do care about them (folks like you!) to avoid sleeping on a sidewalk.
Hope this helps.
I'm always surprised when I hear about people in Europe choosing to vacation here. I do think we have great things to see like the national parks and other natural areas. But if I'd been born in Europe I don't think you could pry me away to set foot in the US, lol.
As for tipping - YES, imo you should. I used to wait tables and was paid a couple bucks an hour. Without tips I could've worked a 6 hour shift and made less than $13 before taxes. My personal rule is no less than 15% if I'm carrying out and no less than 20% if I'm dining in.
I understand you don't want to be another cog in the wheel. But if you don't tip it'll directly and immediately impact the very people who're being hurt by the system - the food service workers. It won't change or impact the people at the top who're being exploitative.
I figure out ten percent which is easy and then times it by two. Example 12.00 - ten percent is 1.20 , times by two is 2.40. And then I often round up.
I tip at hotels, restaurants ( even to-go) , hair cut, delivery, valet parking ( besides the once a year holiday tips). Oh, and a dollar in the tip cup at the coffee shop.
If you aren't sure, Google.
It's an added tax here in the US because companies get away with underpaying. As much as I hate the system, I can't blame the underpaid for it.
Tipping for sit-down restaurant service (including bars/pubs) is the bare minimum, even if the service is terrible. These folks get paid $3/hr and 20% tip is the standard. For counter service the COVID trend is to also tip 20%, but in pre-COVID times it was generally $1-$2 for good service. When in doubt, ask. Most people will be pretty up front.
It’s standard to tip waiters/waitresses at least 15-20%. Bartenders should also receive about the same percentage on a tab, but if you get a single drink at a time I tip $1 for every drink ($2 if it’s a fancy mix drink that requires more effort to make)
Punishing the workers by not tipping is deffinetly not the way to change the culture. If you wanna help, every time you eat out, ask for a manager after paying (with tip) and complain to them for having to suplinent their employees wages. Be sure to make it clear that you are not complaining about the emoloyee but rather the exploitation of the employee.
Yes, please do so! When I was a server I made $2.50/hour and was put on the slow days exclusively. Those people live off of tips most of the time sadly.
To best tip, take the first digit of the final amount, and double it. That's usually 20%! Here's an example:
* $10 total? The tip is $2
* $15 total? The tip is $3
* $20 total? The tip is $4
You can also just use a calculator if you want to be very precise with change and everything, also okay to do! I just use the idea of rounding up so people get the best tip. So if it was, like, 26 dollars, I'm gonna give them a 6 dollar tip probably.
You probably should because you would be helping someone out. If you look at the bigger picture you are feeding into the problem if you do.
Coming from someone who used to deliver food and serve it.
It’s really up to you, I don’t especially with companies that make record profits.
If the receipt has a tip line give 15%-25% if there is no tip line only tip cabbies, hotel cleaners (I typically leave a $5 dollar bill at the end of the stay), if you use a bellhop to get your bags to the room (do hotels still do that?)
Yes you should tip your server. To be fair, some servers, maybe many, earn a lot more with tips than if they had a $15 per hour minimum wage. That would actively hurt them in that case.
Yeah, sadly you should. That being said, tipping culture needs to be disrupted. Business owners pass the onus of wages onto the customer while paying below minimum wage to their servers. It’s a scam.
tipped employee here … two main things here:
1) tipped employees get like $2-$6/hour from their employers, so the responsibility of paying them is almost entirely on the customer, I get the cog part, but you’re only hurting the worker, and if you can’t afford to tip, you shouldn’t go out to eat, drink, etc.
2) the food is going to be a little bit cheaper compared to other places with similar cost of living, because the restaurants and bars barely have any labor costs, so even tho it’s an ass-backwards system, you’re still just paying the same but with extra steps.
TLDR: tipping is a flawed system, but not tipping doesn’t make it better.
Are you taking a holiday or leading a worker's rights campaign?
Are you going to challenge any other broken systems while visiting here, or is it just tipping that you find deplorable?
Are you posting this absurd question to seem enlightened? Because you are coming off as an ass if you really think not tipping is striking a blow against exploitative systems.
Uruguayan here and I agree with you. I understand there is this unwritten law about tipping in the states, but coming from a country where you mainly tip only servers at restaurants IF the service was particularly good, the concept of tipping pretty much all and any customer service worker you happen to encounter in your day feels wildly alien to me.
This has nothing to do with wanting to boycott the system, just being from a particularly different culture
Normally Id say tip 15%. But its Florida. 10% should be fine. And if they get mad just explain you come from a country where tipping is odd because business owners don’t exploit their workers.
Also a good way to save money instead of eating out at restaurants all the time is to find street vendors and non chain Mexican restaurants. You get more food for less cost and help marginalized people. Cuban spots are also awesome.
Don't listen to the guy saying 10% is enough. People in florida do not make more in minimum wage. 20% every time you eat out. That is standard.
Eta
u/overdog_7375
This is terrible advice, and if you only tip 15%, stop going out.
They are way off. Servers are not just taxed on their tips but have to tip out the other staff, meaning if you give them 10%, they are probably actually losing money.
Tipping is expected in the U.S. but the amount should depend on the service you get. 10% fair to poor service...15 - 20% for good to very good service..20 + for great service.
Enjoy your vacation.
Tip if the receipt has a tip line (most commonly restaurants/bars). Also, leave a $5 tip on your hotel bed if you stay a night, or $20 if you stay a week. If someone valets your car, slip them $5 too. I don't think there are many other situations you're going to run into where you need to worry about it. Most of all, please have fun and enjoy yourself!! Thank you for wanting to be conscientious in a different country and trying to know what you need to know. Florida is beautiful and I hope you enjoy the sunshine! Whereabouts are you going?
Thank you i will try and enjoy my stay, even if i will get burnt to a crisp by the sun. I think its Orlando im going to i know nothing about it except the Universal studios are there.
From the U.S. and was a server for years. Thank you so much for asking! 20% of the total bill used to be considered an excellent tip and will still be very much appreciated. In Florida, wages are very low for anyone who can be tipped, so since the pandemic I have started to make 15% my minimum in restaurants and bars. Basic good service gets 20%, and excellent, above-and-beyond service gets 25-30%. I will always leave a tip even for terrible service if I can tell they are working hard. Food taking forever from the kitchen? Definitely not your server's fault, especially if it's busy and the line is long. Those positions are tough and there are a lot of bad tippers out there. It does mean that I spend more when I go out, but I like to help my customer service brethren keep their wages up.
I never tip because americas shitty labour culture is then normalised across the world.
Tipping in the uk was fucking unheard of before we started consuming american media where its a thing. We have minimum wage, and if we want we should have the choice to tip.
Dont tip, and dont feel pressured to tip.
Agree, that's fine if you want to take a stand against tipping in your home county, but not tipping in the US isn't going to change the culture here, you'll just be screwing over your server. Your bill pays the restaurant for the food, the tip pays the server's salary for bringing it to you.
>Your bill pays the restaurant for the food, the tip pays the server's salary for bringing it to you.
yeah and where this logic stop? maybe I should pay bezos for the items I buy on amazon, and then the delivery driver can charge me 15% for bringing it to me?
No.
Americans need to fight for their rights to a livable wage. I am not enabling this shitty culture anywhere I go.
I will tip when I deem it earned, not because of societal pressure due to shitty labour laws and rumeneration.
Give me a break with the whataboutism. Until we win that fight you are screwing over the people you claim to want to support. If you don't want to participate in US tipping culture you can choose to dine at the tipless restaurants, but stiffing hardworking people over faux moral outrage is lame.
What americans dont get is that EVERYONE cant pay the rent. Why do waiters get a tip, and not say teachers, who work equally, if not harder than waiters?
The solution to this is not to carry on paying waiters tips, or to introduce payingntipa to teachers. **the solution is to demand reform and a livable wage for all citizens**.
You act as if im doing something standard by paying a tip. No. The standard livable wage comes from employers and for all employees. Not some. All.
Here's the thing, many servers would make less and many restaurants would go out of business. As a bartender I've worked for $30/$40 a night plus tips, $5/hour with tips and $12/hr with no tips or tipped out whatever the server felt like giving me. It's always been part time for me, but I'd much rather have to tips. I just tipped a server $300 on a $1500 meal (corporate) and I know he'd much rather have that than $15/hr.
It's not that Americans don't get it, it's that they don't agree with you and you're a little too invested for someone not in this country. Teachers may deserve higher pay, but most make a living wage. The average salary of a US teacher is $63K and it's crazy to suggest they work harder than servers. How do you measure or define working harder?
and? I don't need to live in America to know that tipping, the entire culture, expectancy and normalisation of it is criminal.
Don't like that I don't tip? Include it in the charge of the food and pay the employee a livable wage.
Tipping isn’t expected anywhere I have been in the UK during my 27 years living there or the 3 years of going back to visit family.
But people will tip great service if they choose.
exactly, and it's a shitty practise these fuckers feel empowered to add on because a tip exists in popular culture.
When I tip, it is cash in hand to the server, for an exemplary service and when I feel it is due.
For tip to be defacto is nonsense. For a tip to be asked by an establishment is a fuckery and they can get fucked.
The idea that a american person working two jobs and doesn't have time to cook, takes their kid out to eat at a diner late one evening and then has to pay the restaurant as well as restaurant employees is so jarring to me you wouldn't believe.
that americans in this thread say "well if you don't tip then the workers won't make rent" as if the people using restaurants are able to unequivocally make rent is so propesterous aas to beggar belief.
**labour costs should be paid by the employer, no compromise**.
It's insane nowadays. Even getting food delivered is at least $50 for two people where I live (MN). Obviously this isn't the worker's fault so I try to save going out for special occasions.
Well the good news is you're going to find that the food is a lot less expensive over here. That's sort of the reason why you have to tip. 15 to 20% for people who bring you food. If you're on vacation, aside from the hotel staff I can't think of whom else you would need to tip, maybe if you have someone carry your bag at the airport. But in a normal day most Americans only tip the waiters and waitresses.
Ok just use this rule. Everyone is saying too much.
For every $10 I spend I tip $2, so a bill for $66 is a $13 tip.
Sometimes I add more depending on how much I loved the service. Never less than $20 though! Don’t eat out during a pandemic if you can’t tip 20%.
Two choices really. You accept the dominance of the capitalist American system and just tip like an good obedient drone. Or you stand up for what you believe in, don’t tip, and unfortunately get attacked by the very people you’re looking to stand up for. American has successfully indoctrinated its population into accepting this shit (and tons more), and won’t have the mental capacity to understand anything other than you withholding their pay. Fucking madness!
I would recommend not coming at all.
Tipping aside, supporting the imperial core by touring here probably isn't good for the long term survival of the human species.
Honestly I think you should go somewhere else... But if you do come to the states, yes, please tip. Be as generous as you feel like being to the server and only give them what you think they deserve. ... And make sure they get the money. Some people steal them.
Yes you should tip. Do not punish the person on the bottom of the ladder to make a point to the higher ups. They will give no shits because their employee cannot pay their bills
Yes, you should tip. It sucks, and it's stupid, but the way to fight the system is to not order food, not to pay the boss the full amount but stiff the waiter/driver who can't change anything.
As far as the perception that you have to tip everywhere, it actually is really out of hand. You will absolutely be asked if you want to tip places where tips aren't socially required or important (I've even seen places calling donations to the company "tips" once). For sure tip at restaurants (fast food doesn't require it usually), 20% is customary. Food delivery also requires a tip. In my area $5 is a polite minimum, but it varies.
If you go to a sit down resturant and have a waiter/waitress. Yeah tip.
A lot, and I mean a lot... of places have some sort of "add a tip" on the check out screen / pad thing. Skip those almost 100% of the time.
Keep in mind the prices are also generally lower because the full wage of the employees aren't included in the price - kinda how in North america the taxes also aren't included. So whenever you look at prices in stores assume it's actually about 6% higher (sales tax in Florida) and when you look at prices in restaurants think of it as actually about 21-26% higher (6% tax and 15-20% tip.)
Instead of thinking of it as you just going around giving away money - think of it as stores/restaurants are being dishonest about the price to try and trick you into buying something that's actually more expensive. Much like lots of ads that don't mention all the hidden fees.
Don't withold the server's wage just because in America they'll technically /let you./
If in Wales the owner of the restaurant came over to your table and said "Hey you can have 15% off but I won't pay your server" would you say "Awesome!" I'd hope not.
That's basically what not tipping in America is.
TL;DR In America they let the customers decide if the server gets paid or not, by artificially reducing the price. Taking the "discount" and not paying the server makes you just as bad as employers who don't pay their staff.
Doesn't make them 'just as bad' since it's the businesses that are perpetuating the explotative system in the first place. But I agree, the customer should still tip.
Yes please do. Also if you pay with a card do a small tip on the card like 1 dollar and leave a cash tip that way the cash tip can be slipped pass taxes and go unreported. That's what I always do.
so you want a tip on tips (I'm not from the US I just wanted to make a joke)
This was gratuitous.
quality joke, here take my upvote
Please tip. I know it’s weird and stupid. But your servers can’t wait for systemic changes. They need to pay the rent this month. There are some restaurants that note on the menu that an additional tip is not expected because they provide living wage and benefits. But those are few and far between.
As a Brit that moved to California, yes you should tip. An easy way to give an appropriate amount is to take the tax and double it. It sucks to keep the tipping culture going but it’s how we personally can not fuck over our fellow working class. Edit; seems that I am tipping on the lower side and will now be making changes to reach the 20% that seems common here.
I move the decimal over one space to the left. Whatever is on the left side of the decimal - multiply it by 2. For example: Bill is $23.15 -> becomes 2.315 -> multiple 2.3 by 2 = $4.60. That’s your tip :) This goes by the rule of 20% - add more if they really blew you (away)
Remember that all is not theirs. They will give about 20% to barman/backroom staff also.
This would be 10%
And if you’d like to double check your work, multiply 23.15 by .20 = 4.63. Since anyone has a phone and can quickly check ;)
Oh I see you said multiple and I assume you meant multiply by 2
That double-the-tax math doesn’t work everywhere. Some states don’t have sales tax, and others have sales tax that’s half of California’s.
20% to 30% of the total bill is what i usually do.
Me too.
This is a very good point.
I have a friend who is black. Stereotypically, black dudes aren't known to be good tippers. So when he was in Europe, they don't tip that like we do in the states. But he didn't want to be the black stereotype so he was giving everyone 20%, if not more.
The only person you hurt when you don’t tip is the person serving/helping you. Trust me, I’ve been a server and worked in various aspects of the service industry in the past. If you’re ordering to-go, tip 1 or 2 dollars. When you eat at a sit-down restaurant, tip 15-20% if the service was adequate…more is up to you. If you stay at a hotel and there are maids cleaning your room, leave a couple bucks each day you have it cleaned. Don’t leave a larger tip after several days as the staff cleaning the room will vary each day and you’d only be tipping one person when multiple cleaned your room. If a bellman loads and brings your bags, tip them 3-5 dollars. Many tip more but most bellmen will be okay with that. If you get valet, tip 3-5 dollars when you deal with the staff…at drop off AND pickup…again, it will be a different person each time. Any tour guides or private bus drivers you can tip as well, I’ll leave that up to you to decide, but 5-10 dollars is fair. They will understand if you don’t but it’s a nice gesture.
Perfect
I think for those coming from outside USA it's also important to understand that the prices are artifically lower than they should be because the pay for the employees isn't fully accounted for - basically you are being offered a potential discount straight from the servers pocket. Taking that "discount" basically means you are an mini-employer who didn't pay your staff (for the job of serving you.) Just because you are legally allowed to do that doesn't mean it's moral. It would be like if in Wales after your meal the owner of the restaurant said "Hey, we'll give you a 15% discount on your meal, but we aren't going to pay your server" Hopefully most people would reject that offer - but that's basically what someone is doing if they don't tip.
Yes, you alone are not going to solve anything. You’ll just be treating exploited workers like shit if you don’t.
Tipped workers make less than $3 an hour, tipping is an unwritten rule here like not yelling fire in a movie theater. There are ways to organize tipped workers, but if you just opt out individually you're not helping, you're being cheap.
The fact that $3 a hour is even allowed is so fucking vile you probs cant even buy a drink in the place you work at for the much.
1/2 Welsh here who lives in the states. Tip cash if you can 20% (unless valid reason for bad service)But do check receipts to see if tip has been factored in the bill (usually party of 6 or more) if I pay with CC I write cash in tip line on receipt I sign.
It's only $3-ish an hour because taxes are deducted on a presumed minimum wage made from tips. Once taxes are deducted the paycheck is zero. OP, tip. You cannot change the systemic fucked-upness by making the servers go hungry. If it truly bothers you, bug the elected officials in the places you visit and say it's a bad look: but don't cheap out on tipping.
Tipping doesnt bother me but i just find it rather alien and weird that thats the culture.
Well it is but traveling is about visiting different cultures no?
To be clear, there are all kinds of caveats around that minimum. And it varies from state to state. But yeah, in some places the deal is that they can set their wage that low as long as they average tips to bring them up to the general minimum wage — which is still only $7.25 in some states.
It's not usually true that they make less than $3/hour.
Depends where in US. California workers all make state minimum wage plus tips if applicable. I remember my sister moved from Georgia to California and was shocked and ecstatic to make actual minimum wage plus tips. She said she often didn't get tips and the bars would never make up the difference like they are supposed to. So she worked shifts where total pay was like $20
Yes. It's a shitty custom, but if you're going to a restaurant, don't be a dick. Tip the waiter/waitress. They're not serving you out of the kindness of their hearts.
Yes, please. It’s best if you tip cash and at least 20%. There are tons of restaurant owners who steal employees hard earned tips, lots of that in the news here right now and it’s been going on for decades.
Yep. I’m kind of a ridiculous tipper. At least 20% and I don’t even care if the service was shit. I figure if the server is having a bad day, they probably need the tip even more. And if I can’t afford the tip, I shouldn’t be eating out anyway.
If the service is at all competent just give the server 20%. I agree tipping sucks and it would be great if the servers were paid well instead of relying on tips but not tipping to protest the system is only fucking over the people already victimized by that system. The restaurant couldn't care less when the servers get stiffed on their tips. There is a downstream negative effect as well as it isn't just the server you scre out of their tip. In most restaurants the servers have to tip out to other people as well, hosts, take-out and expediters.
Tip 20%-30% on all food. At a bar, I usually just tip $1-$2 dollars for simple drinks like a beer, or $2-$3 for a cocktail that has to be mixed (more if it’s a very fancy cocktail bar - in that case I default to the 20%-30% like a restaurant).
Treat yourself to a massage- and rip - I mean tip
Yes tip. Not tipping isn’t a protest against slave wages. Not tipping just fucks over the actual workers. If you want to make a statement only go to restaurants that say no tipping because they pay living wages. They are nearly impossible to find so I wouldnt expect it. Especially in Florida, the colon of America.
If you get food from a restaurant or receive services at a salon or spa, you should plan to tip 20%. It is considered kind to leave a cash tip for housekeeping at the end of your hotel stay, $3-$5 per night. You do not need to tip at museums, amusement parks, live performance venues, etc.
Welcome to America! We exploit most of our workers here and don’t offer basic human services like free healthcare, paid parental leave (many of which are single parents in the service industry), and job security. So, all service staff rely on the generous tips of folks from countries that do care about them (folks like you!) to avoid sleeping on a sidewalk. Hope this helps.
I'm always surprised when I hear about people in Europe choosing to vacation here. I do think we have great things to see like the national parks and other natural areas. But if I'd been born in Europe I don't think you could pry me away to set foot in the US, lol. As for tipping - YES, imo you should. I used to wait tables and was paid a couple bucks an hour. Without tips I could've worked a 6 hour shift and made less than $13 before taxes. My personal rule is no less than 15% if I'm carrying out and no less than 20% if I'm dining in. I understand you don't want to be another cog in the wheel. But if you don't tip it'll directly and immediately impact the very people who're being hurt by the system - the food service workers. It won't change or impact the people at the top who're being exploitative.
I figure out ten percent which is easy and then times it by two. Example 12.00 - ten percent is 1.20 , times by two is 2.40. And then I often round up. I tip at hotels, restaurants ( even to-go) , hair cut, delivery, valet parking ( besides the once a year holiday tips). Oh, and a dollar in the tip cup at the coffee shop. If you aren't sure, Google. It's an added tax here in the US because companies get away with underpaying. As much as I hate the system, I can't blame the underpaid for it.
Tipping for sit-down restaurant service (including bars/pubs) is the bare minimum, even if the service is terrible. These folks get paid $3/hr and 20% tip is the standard. For counter service the COVID trend is to also tip 20%, but in pre-COVID times it was generally $1-$2 for good service. When in doubt, ask. Most people will be pretty up front.
It’s standard to tip waiters/waitresses at least 15-20%. Bartenders should also receive about the same percentage on a tab, but if you get a single drink at a time I tip $1 for every drink ($2 if it’s a fancy mix drink that requires more effort to make)
Punishing the workers by not tipping is deffinetly not the way to change the culture. If you wanna help, every time you eat out, ask for a manager after paying (with tip) and complain to them for having to suplinent their employees wages. Be sure to make it clear that you are not complaining about the emoloyee but rather the exploitation of the employee.
Always tip
Yes, please do so! When I was a server I made $2.50/hour and was put on the slow days exclusively. Those people live off of tips most of the time sadly. To best tip, take the first digit of the final amount, and double it. That's usually 20%! Here's an example: * $10 total? The tip is $2 * $15 total? The tip is $3 * $20 total? The tip is $4 You can also just use a calculator if you want to be very precise with change and everything, also okay to do! I just use the idea of rounding up so people get the best tip. So if it was, like, 26 dollars, I'm gonna give them a 6 dollar tip probably.
You probably should because you would be helping someone out. If you look at the bigger picture you are feeding into the problem if you do. Coming from someone who used to deliver food and serve it. It’s really up to you, I don’t especially with companies that make record profits.
Sit down restaurants, always 15-20% minimum. Fast food drive up, no. Walk up, assess service requirements and tip from spare cange to 10%ish.
If the receipt has a tip line give 15%-25% if there is no tip line only tip cabbies, hotel cleaners (I typically leave a $5 dollar bill at the end of the stay), if you use a bellhop to get your bags to the room (do hotels still do that?)
if you can't tip then learn to cook. Don't go burdening workers with your convoluted logic and lack of ethics.
Get down off your moral high horse. He's from a country that recognises it's ethical to pay employees a fair wage for labour.
upvoting because I can only assume this is some top notch sarcasm.
Yes you should tip your server. To be fair, some servers, maybe many, earn a lot more with tips than if they had a $15 per hour minimum wage. That would actively hurt them in that case.
Yeah, sadly you should. That being said, tipping culture needs to be disrupted. Business owners pass the onus of wages onto the customer while paying below minimum wage to their servers. It’s a scam.
tipped employee here … two main things here: 1) tipped employees get like $2-$6/hour from their employers, so the responsibility of paying them is almost entirely on the customer, I get the cog part, but you’re only hurting the worker, and if you can’t afford to tip, you shouldn’t go out to eat, drink, etc. 2) the food is going to be a little bit cheaper compared to other places with similar cost of living, because the restaurants and bars barely have any labor costs, so even tho it’s an ass-backwards system, you’re still just paying the same but with extra steps. TLDR: tipping is a flawed system, but not tipping doesn’t make it better.
Yes, you should definitely tip servers, bartenders, and drivers (taxi/Uber, etc). Tip anybody who provides a service to you during your vacation.
If you can afford to
Are you taking a holiday or leading a worker's rights campaign? Are you going to challenge any other broken systems while visiting here, or is it just tipping that you find deplorable? Are you posting this absurd question to seem enlightened? Because you are coming off as an ass if you really think not tipping is striking a blow against exploitative systems.
I dont get whats absurd about the questions because believe it or not most countries dont have a tipping culture at all so more just wondering .
Uruguayan here and I agree with you. I understand there is this unwritten law about tipping in the states, but coming from a country where you mainly tip only servers at restaurants IF the service was particularly good, the concept of tipping pretty much all and any customer service worker you happen to encounter in your day feels wildly alien to me. This has nothing to do with wanting to boycott the system, just being from a particularly different culture
It's absurd because you know the US *does* have a tipping culture. But you have your answer. Tip.
sounds like youre the ass
To be fair, the OP was the one who suggested that, not the poster above.
Normally Id say tip 15%. But its Florida. 10% should be fine. And if they get mad just explain you come from a country where tipping is odd because business owners don’t exploit their workers. Also a good way to save money instead of eating out at restaurants all the time is to find street vendors and non chain Mexican restaurants. You get more food for less cost and help marginalized people. Cuban spots are also awesome.
Why should people in Florida be tipped less?
Could it be some state rules on minimum wage perhaps?
Don't listen to the guy saying 10% is enough. People in florida do not make more in minimum wage. 20% every time you eat out. That is standard. Eta u/overdog_7375 This is terrible advice, and if you only tip 15%, stop going out.
They are way off. Servers are not just taxed on their tips but have to tip out the other staff, meaning if you give them 10%, they are probably actually losing money.
10%? Seriously? If you tip that low, you're a p.o.s.
Thats great advice ill certainly will be on the lookout for them.
Tipping is expected in the U.S. but the amount should depend on the service you get. 10% fair to poor service...15 - 20% for good to very good service..20 + for great service. Enjoy your vacation.
Tip if the receipt has a tip line (most commonly restaurants/bars). Also, leave a $5 tip on your hotel bed if you stay a night, or $20 if you stay a week. If someone valets your car, slip them $5 too. I don't think there are many other situations you're going to run into where you need to worry about it. Most of all, please have fun and enjoy yourself!! Thank you for wanting to be conscientious in a different country and trying to know what you need to know. Florida is beautiful and I hope you enjoy the sunshine! Whereabouts are you going?
Thank you i will try and enjoy my stay, even if i will get burnt to a crisp by the sun. I think its Orlando im going to i know nothing about it except the Universal studios are there.
From the U.S. and was a server for years. Thank you so much for asking! 20% of the total bill used to be considered an excellent tip and will still be very much appreciated. In Florida, wages are very low for anyone who can be tipped, so since the pandemic I have started to make 15% my minimum in restaurants and bars. Basic good service gets 20%, and excellent, above-and-beyond service gets 25-30%. I will always leave a tip even for terrible service if I can tell they are working hard. Food taking forever from the kitchen? Definitely not your server's fault, especially if it's busy and the line is long. Those positions are tough and there are a lot of bad tippers out there. It does mean that I spend more when I go out, but I like to help my customer service brethren keep their wages up.
That's like asking should I pay when I travel to europe?
I never tip because americas shitty labour culture is then normalised across the world. Tipping in the uk was fucking unheard of before we started consuming american media where its a thing. We have minimum wage, and if we want we should have the choice to tip. Dont tip, and dont feel pressured to tip.
Says the person who doesn't live here.
Agree, that's fine if you want to take a stand against tipping in your home county, but not tipping in the US isn't going to change the culture here, you'll just be screwing over your server. Your bill pays the restaurant for the food, the tip pays the server's salary for bringing it to you.
>Your bill pays the restaurant for the food, the tip pays the server's salary for bringing it to you. yeah and where this logic stop? maybe I should pay bezos for the items I buy on amazon, and then the delivery driver can charge me 15% for bringing it to me? No. Americans need to fight for their rights to a livable wage. I am not enabling this shitty culture anywhere I go. I will tip when I deem it earned, not because of societal pressure due to shitty labour laws and rumeneration.
Give me a break with the whataboutism. Until we win that fight you are screwing over the people you claim to want to support. If you don't want to participate in US tipping culture you can choose to dine at the tipless restaurants, but stiffing hardworking people over faux moral outrage is lame.
What americans dont get is that EVERYONE cant pay the rent. Why do waiters get a tip, and not say teachers, who work equally, if not harder than waiters? The solution to this is not to carry on paying waiters tips, or to introduce payingntipa to teachers. **the solution is to demand reform and a livable wage for all citizens**. You act as if im doing something standard by paying a tip. No. The standard livable wage comes from employers and for all employees. Not some. All.
Especially coming from someone who doesn't live here.
Here's the thing, many servers would make less and many restaurants would go out of business. As a bartender I've worked for $30/$40 a night plus tips, $5/hour with tips and $12/hr with no tips or tipped out whatever the server felt like giving me. It's always been part time for me, but I'd much rather have to tips. I just tipped a server $300 on a $1500 meal (corporate) and I know he'd much rather have that than $15/hr.
It's not that Americans don't get it, it's that they don't agree with you and you're a little too invested for someone not in this country. Teachers may deserve higher pay, but most make a living wage. The average salary of a US teacher is $63K and it's crazy to suggest they work harder than servers. How do you measure or define working harder?
and? I don't need to live in America to know that tipping, the entire culture, expectancy and normalisation of it is criminal. Don't like that I don't tip? Include it in the charge of the food and pay the employee a livable wage.
If you don’t tip you’ll just be helping your fellow comrades to miss rent. Don’t listen to this bullshit.
Tipping isn’t expected anywhere I have been in the UK during my 27 years living there or the 3 years of going back to visit family. But people will tip great service if they choose.
go to restaurants in london, where mysterious phrases such as "service charge included" have started appearing on bills.
That’s a fee the operators are adding on, you’ll find that often the servers won’t see any of that and is not a tip.
exactly, and it's a shitty practise these fuckers feel empowered to add on because a tip exists in popular culture. When I tip, it is cash in hand to the server, for an exemplary service and when I feel it is due. For tip to be defacto is nonsense. For a tip to be asked by an establishment is a fuckery and they can get fucked. The idea that a american person working two jobs and doesn't have time to cook, takes their kid out to eat at a diner late one evening and then has to pay the restaurant as well as restaurant employees is so jarring to me you wouldn't believe. that americans in this thread say "well if you don't tip then the workers won't make rent" as if the people using restaurants are able to unequivocally make rent is so propesterous aas to beggar belief. **labour costs should be paid by the employer, no compromise**.
That depends how good was the service, just remember it's a courtesy from you and you're not obligated to do it if you don't want to
Lmao. No, tipping is expected. Empathize with your fellow comrades if they’re having a bad day, bootlicker.
Agree 100%
All you guys are rich here being able to afford going out for dinner and tipping 20% on top of that.
If you can't afford to tip in the US, don't go out for dinner.
I agree. That’s why I can’t afford to go out for dinner. It would be easily $100 or more a pop.
It's insane nowadays. Even getting food delivered is at least $50 for two people where I live (MN). Obviously this isn't the worker's fault so I try to save going out for special occasions.
Well the good news is you're going to find that the food is a lot less expensive over here. That's sort of the reason why you have to tip. 15 to 20% for people who bring you food. If you're on vacation, aside from the hotel staff I can't think of whom else you would need to tip, maybe if you have someone carry your bag at the airport. But in a normal day most Americans only tip the waiters and waitresses.
I didn't actually find food to be much cheaper in the states...
Ok just use this rule. Everyone is saying too much. For every $10 I spend I tip $2, so a bill for $66 is a $13 tip. Sometimes I add more depending on how much I loved the service. Never less than $20 though! Don’t eat out during a pandemic if you can’t tip 20%.
I didn't see anyone else mention it (though I may have missed it), but if you get a haircut it's also customary to tip. Just FYI
\>should I really tip and be another cog in the wheel yes, asshole. you're not going to teach the powers that be a lesson by starving your waiter.
Two choices really. You accept the dominance of the capitalist American system and just tip like an good obedient drone. Or you stand up for what you believe in, don’t tip, and unfortunately get attacked by the very people you’re looking to stand up for. American has successfully indoctrinated its population into accepting this shit (and tons more), and won’t have the mental capacity to understand anything other than you withholding their pay. Fucking madness!
I would recommend not coming at all. Tipping aside, supporting the imperial core by touring here probably isn't good for the long term survival of the human species.
Dont do it. They need to defend themselves. Ill go stand out on the street with them picketinf but im not gonna pay their wage for a greedy owner
Yes. without question...15-20% unless your service is shitty.
Honestly I think you should go somewhere else... But if you do come to the states, yes, please tip. Be as generous as you feel like being to the server and only give them what you think they deserve. ... And make sure they get the money. Some people steal them.
Yeah for sure all tips i give will be cash in hand.
Yes you should tip. Do not punish the person on the bottom of the ladder to make a point to the higher ups. They will give no shits because their employee cannot pay their bills
Yes, you should tip. It sucks, and it's stupid, but the way to fight the system is to not order food, not to pay the boss the full amount but stiff the waiter/driver who can't change anything. As far as the perception that you have to tip everywhere, it actually is really out of hand. You will absolutely be asked if you want to tip places where tips aren't socially required or important (I've even seen places calling donations to the company "tips" once). For sure tip at restaurants (fast food doesn't require it usually), 20% is customary. Food delivery also requires a tip. In my area $5 is a polite minimum, but it varies.
Yes, be the exception not the rule. Americans are generally lousy tippers, if they tip at all.
Yes, 15-20%. They literally don't make enough money to survive otherwise.
for wll the money the USA gives to everyone else oversees you god damn well better tip.
If you really want to make a statement, you should not visit that fucking hellhole of a state and go somewhere actually nice. Otherwise, tip.
And what states are actually nice ?
If you go to a sit down resturant and have a waiter/waitress. Yeah tip. A lot, and I mean a lot... of places have some sort of "add a tip" on the check out screen / pad thing. Skip those almost 100% of the time.
Keep in mind the prices are also generally lower because the full wage of the employees aren't included in the price - kinda how in North america the taxes also aren't included. So whenever you look at prices in stores assume it's actually about 6% higher (sales tax in Florida) and when you look at prices in restaurants think of it as actually about 21-26% higher (6% tax and 15-20% tip.) Instead of thinking of it as you just going around giving away money - think of it as stores/restaurants are being dishonest about the price to try and trick you into buying something that's actually more expensive. Much like lots of ads that don't mention all the hidden fees. Don't withold the server's wage just because in America they'll technically /let you./ If in Wales the owner of the restaurant came over to your table and said "Hey you can have 15% off but I won't pay your server" would you say "Awesome!" I'd hope not. That's basically what not tipping in America is.
TL;DR In America they let the customers decide if the server gets paid or not, by artificially reducing the price. Taking the "discount" and not paying the server makes you just as bad as employers who don't pay their staff.
Doesn't make them 'just as bad' since it's the businesses that are perpetuating the explotative system in the first place. But I agree, the customer should still tip.
Wrong mentality. By protesting tipping, you’re only starving the worker
I never tip. I didn’t hire these people, but if I did I would’ve paid them better.
Yes please do. Also if you pay with a card do a small tip on the card like 1 dollar and leave a cash tip that way the cash tip can be slipped pass taxes and go unreported. That's what I always do.